National Public Ice and Snow Season opens in Tianjin

The sixth National Public Ice and Snow Season opened on Dec 12 in North China's municipality of Tianjin and will run till February.

A total of 3,500 local citizens as well as leading ice and snow athletes joined the opening ceremony.

Gou Zhongwen, director of the General Administration of Sport, said that the event will boost the popularity of snow and ice sports from North China to the southern and eastern parts of China.

After the ceremony, a number of events will be staged around China.

An ice and snow carnival also kicked off concurrently with the opening ceremony of the snow season, at the north square of the Olympics Center and the front square of the Tianjin Sports Center in Tianjin, with an area of 20,000 square meters, comprising areas for performance, entertainment and sports venues.

The twin squares were decorated into snow and ice parks, which are favored by local citizens.

Zhao Hongbo, chief coach of the figure skating team in China, said a series of colorful ice and snow events and public entertainment programs during the season indicate China has put great emphasis on ice and snow sports, which benefit people's health and boost their connection with nature.